


you, me, and our cats

by junwtfhoe



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Bad Jokes, Bad Names For Pets, Cats, Don't Judge Me, F/M, Happy Birthday Kim Donghyuk, I'm Bad At Tagging, Lowercase, Pets, Please Don't Hate Me, Please Don't Kill Me, Please Kill Me, This Is STUPID, What Have I Done, What Was I Thinking?, What is this?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 10:25:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junwtfhoe/pseuds/junwtfhoe
Summary: or waking up to the presence of your neighbour's cat on new years day and you have to give it back in the dead of the night





	you, me, and our cats

**Author's Note:**

> honestly this is stupid i don't even know what made me write this. please don't kill me, and also please kill me. why did i even write this? what did i even think when i wrote this? 
> 
> this was supposed to be a birthday fic for donghyuk but now? i don't even know anymore

right after the new year's celebration, you headed home and straight away showered before passing out on your bed in only an oversized t-shirt and a pair of undies. however, your first sleep of 2019 was interrupted when you wake up to your cat clawing on your toe, instantly shocked by the pain that your cat's claws were giving you. jumping up from your bed, your cat instantly runs away and hides under your bed.

"meowmeow? what the fuck are you doing with my toe?" you mumble, rubbing your eye with the back of your hand. checking your phone, you pursed your lips as you see that it was only 3.30 am. letting out a timid meow, your cat slowly goes out from under your bed and rubs her head against your feet.

"you know i'll forgive you right away everytime you do that, right?" you coo, smiling at your cat.

the cat showed signs of being a mixed breed, looking somewhat like a siamese cat with the fur length of a persian cat. looking at the ball of fur lying on her back and purring on the floor suddenly reminded you the first time you found meowmeow.

on that day, the sky was gloomy and the thunder roared deafeningly, shocking your out of your wits every single time. what's funny was everytime the thunder crashed, it was followed by a meow, which caused you to frantically search for the source of the meows, hence, the name meowmeow. you ended up bringing the cat back home when you found her and ever since, meowmeow had been your sole companion.

meowmeow promptly got up, stopping at your room door to turn and look back at you.

"meow," meowmeow meowed, swaying her tail from left to right. she meowed again, causing you to sigh.

"what do you want, baby?" you said, throwing your hands up as you dragged your feet against the floor, obliging to the cat's orders. "you hungry?"

meowmeow prances across the living room, leading you straight to the kitchen. "are you serious? you're hungry now?"

"meow," meowmeow meowed again, looking at you, then looking at the food bowl under the window. you curse yourself because the window was open, you must have forgotten to close it before you headed out earlier that day. there was a figure, about your cat's size, eating your cat's food at the food corner for your cat. you try to look closely, your brows furrowing as you focused your eyes on the figure.

"who is that?" you asked, looking down as you see your cat going behind you, trying to hide herself.

making a large step towards the lightswitch on your right, you quickly turn it on, causing the figure to stop eating. the figure ended up to be a grey british shorthaired cat, and it immediately looked at you when you turned the light on. you scan the cat and felt relief when you see a collar around the cat's neck.

"meow?" the stranger cat meows, its eyes wide as it looks at you.

"well look who we have here?" you smile, walking towards the cat, "how the fuck did you even get up here though?"

the cat only meows as its eyes follows you. squatting down, you pet the cat and coo as it purrs from your strokes. getting up, you walk towards the door that lead to the balcony, opening it as you walk outside and wondered, how the hell did the cat got to your floor?

shivering from the cold wind blowing outside, you step back inside and close the door, immediately squatting down and petting the stranger cat again.

"whose are you, honey?" you ask the cat, "do people in this apartment own you?"

"meow," the cat meows, rubbing its head against your ankle. your cat, meowmeow, was still far away from you and the stranger cat, and so you look at her and chuckle, "baby, are you scared?"

meowmeow could only give you a timid meow, and straight away she runs out from the kitchen to your room probably.

"i should get you back where you belong," you say, petting the stranger cat for one last time before picking it up in your arms. the cat let out a purr as you hug it, reassuring you that it was comfortable with you. you walk to the entrance of your apartment, then you look to your room as you remembered your cat.

"meowmeow, mommy's gonna go outside okay? do you wanna follow mommy?" you say, immediately responded by a loud meow as your cat runs out from your room to follow you, causing you to chuckle, "good girl. mommy will give you hugs later but we need to get this buddy back to where he belongs first okay?"

meowmeow responds to you with a meow, as if she was agreeing with you. and so, the three of you make your way out, meowmeow following you close.

walking down the stairs, you were met with a black haired man as soon as you reached the floor below yours, frustratedly sighing as he gets out of his apartment. it was a little dark and the only light illuminating you both was the light from the man's apartment. you tilt your head as you look at him, raising his hand as he fiddles with his bracelets. slowly, you step nearer towards the man and ask him, "hi, um is this your cat?"

he turns towards you, his eyes stilling on you as he tries to see the cat in your arms better. slowly, he blinks and his stressed out face changes as he breaks into a smile, his eyes turning into upside-down crescents, "it's grey, right? sorry i can't see properly because it's a little bit dark but yeah, that cat's mine."

"sorry, you must have been worried," you say, your eyebrows furrowing apologetically. you hand him the cat, and as he receives it, he gives you another smile. you could only awkwardly smile back because damn, this man looks so good even though he was only wearing a dark red t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. you felt like you wanted to touch his hair because it looked so soft and now you didn't even know what to do other than smile while you stare at him nuzzling the cat's ear with his nose.

"how did he even get upstairs?" he asks, with a smile still on his face.

"i don't know," you said, laughing a little as you tilted your head in wonder, "my cat woke me up and i ended up catching him eating meowmeow's food."

"oh, he was eating your cat's food?" the man asks, both his eyebrows raising. you made a mental note to not let yourself smile like an idiot because the man's voice was so smooth and calming and it made you think of melted chocolate. he was only talking for fuck's sake, you couldn't let yourself thrown off guard like this. he smiled apologetically when you shrugged, "i'm sorry, really."

"no, it's okay," you say, shaking your head as you smiled again, "i don't actually mind? um, uh... i can just give your cat back to you if he ever comes back up."

"i'm really sorry though," the man says, petting the cat, "baby must have been really hungry... it's late and i just got back from a new year's celebration and i think i forgot to put more food for him."

"wait the cat's name is baby?" you say, nearly laughing at how cute yet lame the cat's name is.

"you named your cat meowmeow so you're not the one who should attack me about that." he replies, laughing. raising your hands in defeat, you only shrug and shake your head. "well i hope my cat didn't fight with yours."

"ah no," you say, laughing it off, "my cat is literally a scaredy cat. she hid behind me the whole time."

as if meowmeow understood you were talking about her, she meowed at you.

"whoa, it seems like she knows you're talking about her." donghyuk says, laughing.

"she does," you say, grinning, "i think she understands everything i say but she just doesn't want to listen."

"cats. hey," he says, letting his cat down and into his apartment. he then gets up and looks at you, his gaze so intense you felt like you almost wanted to slap him for making your ears burn, "i think it's my first time seeing you around."

"i was about to say the same thing," you say. it was true, you've never seen this man throughout the years you've lived in this apartment complex. you ask him, "are you new?"

"no, i lived here since 5 years ago," he said, shaking his head. his answer made your eyes widen, shocked because you had lived in the apartment complex around the same duration of time as well. "what about you?"

"me too, i was here since 5 years ago." you say and this time you were grinning, "wow we've never met each other all this time."

the man laughed, scratching the back of his neck, "why, finally, hello neighbour? i'm kim donghyuk."

you introduced yourself and he only nodded at what you said. you continue, "i live on the floor right above yours by the way."

"ahh," he said, "it's nice to finally meet you i guess."

he smiles, and suddenly you remember how underdressed you were for this unexpected meeting. he was there looking so effortlessly fine and there you were still looking messy because you literally just rolled out of your bed. though you loved talking to him, this situation was making you a little... embarrassed. you didn't want to stay there talking to him in only your t-shirt and undies.

pursing your lips, you suddenly say, "um, i guess see you around huh? i-i should go back."

"okay?" donghyuk says, tilting his head. you were already going up the stairs when he decided to say, "happy new year!"

"happy new year," you reply, turning your head to look at him, "c'mon meowmeow. let's get back upstairs."

your cat followed you as you quickly make your way upstairs. finally reaching your apartment, you close the door behind you and rest your back against it, totally thrown off guard by the situation you had just been in earlier. it was 3.30 in the morning and you probably were looking like a total disaster with your blemishes and under-eye pigmentation out there to be seen by the world without any makeup, not to mention your bed hair which you thought looked really messy. exhaling, you stare at your cat as she was grooming herself.

"meowmeow," you called for your cat, causing her to look at you for a moment before grooming herself again, "okay i know you don't care how i feel right now but i never knew that i had a cute neighbour living right under our floor. i'm freaking out, meowmeow."

she only gave you a meow and continued to groom herself, licking the fur on her paw.

"okay i don't care what you say, meowmeow. go on and say whatever at me," you say, not even caring if you sounded like a maniac for talking to your cat. who was even going to see you doing that inside your own house? "he was just out there looking and being perfect and i was a half-awake disaster back there. even his voice sounded so fucking perfect. i probably sounded like a frog compared to him. ribbit."

totally ignoring you, meowmeow walks away and so you follow her into your room.

"well meowmeow," you say, sitting on your bed as you look at your cat who was jumping onto your bed as well, "let's just sleep now and pretend like that didn't happen, okay? goodnight."

and you fall asleep.

the next morning, you cross paths with donghyuk when the both of you are checking your mails, and you could only exchange a smile and a simple 'good morning' with him. you didn't meet him only until tomorrow night, where you had to return his cat back to him.

"baby?" you say, smiling at the affection he was giving you by rubbing his body against your leg, "what are you doing here? donghyuk would be so worried for you."

"meow," baby meowed, continuing to rub himself against you.

this time when you found baby, he wasn't eating your cat's food but instead he was playing with meowmeow and licking her face. you let baby stay over, until the you notice how late it was.

"aw meowmeow finally made a friend," you coo, smiling at the two cats, "i think i let you stay here too long already. it's nearly 12 am, baby. let's get you back to your owner."

and so, you pick baby up, walk out your apartment door and go downstairs to meet donghyuk. thankfully today you are wearing something more decent than the barely decent outfit you had the night you first met donghyuk, which was a blue pajama set that had cloud prints. you had also put your hair up in a little bun and night cream on your skin. you think you still looked like a lazy bum but at least, this was better than a half-awake disaster who just rolled out of bed. knocking on the door, you wait until he opens it after hearing a 'wait' from behind the door from him.

you step back as the door opens, and you are greeted with a smiling donghyuk. this time he was wearing a simple collared blue and white t-shirt, paired with a black pair of pants.

"baby again?" donghyuk asks, your heart slightly racing when you heard him say baby. raising his eyebrow, "what did he do now?"

"nothing, don't worry." you say, shaking your head. handing donghyuk his cat, you say, "here."

"did he fight with meowmeow?" he asks.

"no, they are okay with each other." you shrug, bending up to pick your own cat. looking at your cat, you then look at donghyuk, saying, "i think they even made friends with each other."

"that's great then," donghyuk says, "why don't you come in and let them play more? i'll make you tea."

"oh, thank you," you say, mentally cursing yourself as you were already walking into donghyuk's apartment.

is this how i die? you think as you stare at his back, mom always said to not enter into stranger's houses. he's a stranger and i'm already in his house. god he won't even kill you, he doesn't look like it. the only way he'll kill you is by making you overhyperventilate because of how extremely cute he looks when he laughs.

do i have a crush on my neighbour? you think again, i think so. who wouldn't have a crush on somebody who looks as good as this?

"can you hear me?" donghyuk asks. apparently he was already calling for you a few times, "do you want sugar?"

"uh yeah," you say, frantically nodding. letting your cat down, you look around his living room for a short while and then follow him into the kitchen.

"why didn't you just stay in the living room?" donghyuk asks, smiling at you as he pours a spoonful of sugar into the mug.

"it's not the 19th century and you're not my slave or something," you say, smiling at him as he hands you one of the mugs, "thanks. this is so traditional, inviting a person over and serving them tea."

"really?" he says, raising his eyebrow again, "i don't think so. a man just served you tea and i don't think men are supposed to make tea for their guests. women are supposed to do that in the olden days."

shrugging, you smile at him and saying, "okay i guess this is quite modern in a way? i don't know."

"let's go to the living room?" he asks you, and you respond with a yes.

"aw look at them," you say, smiling at the cats as they chase each other around as you two walk to the living room. turning to donghyuk, you give him an apologetic look and say, "i hope meowmeow doesn't break anything."

"eh, there's nothing to be broken here anyway," he says, shrugging, "i childproofed... or rather, catproofed everything."

"that's some dedication," you laughed, your eyes crinkling. blowing slightly on your tea, you take a little sip and hum, "this tea is good."

"i'll give you some later if you like it," he says, "i have tons of it from my friend so if you'd like some i can give it to you."

flustered, you shake your head and laugh, "only telling me the brand would be already good enough, donghyuk. god, why are you so nice?"

"i'm not," donghyuk laughs, shaking his head. "anyway, as neighbours are supposed to be... we should know each other better."

"i know," you say, still smiling at him, "i know your name and, um, your age?"

"i'm turning 22," he says, "and you?"

you say your age and then you proceed to ask him, "what do you do?"

"you mean my job?" he asks, and when you nod, he answers, "oh i teach at a kindergarten nearby."

"early childhood education?" you ask him. "that explains the lack of curse words coming out of your mouth."

hearing you, donghyuk laughs.

"yeah, i had to stop using curse words a month before i started working. i had to put a good example for the kids, right? i like kids so i decided to get a job that allows me to play with them and also give back to the community at the same time, which is teaching. surrounding yourself with kids can be fun, y'know? but i didn't know what i was getting into. at least, i love what i'm doing. the way the children laugh, and their questions just opens a whole new galaxy for me. my head sometimes aches because of it but when you see their smiles and listen to their laugh, your heart just gets a thousand times softter," he says, "what about you?"

"me?" you say, "i'm actually a museum trainee? or was it a museum's assistant? um, museum attendant, yes. anyway, i'm aiming to become a curator at the museum."

"oh? i like your ambition," he says. and so he starts to tease you, "i didn't know we have a historian here."

"being a curator or anything that has relation to the museum and a historian is nowhere the same, okay." you laugh as you talk, giving him a lopsided smile, "i do like history and i always wanted to be an archeologist but i guess for now i'll settle for the museum. it's fun in a way though, i always get to look at these archeological pieces, and i wonder how it would look when it was still in it's actual era. a simple vase could be a pee vase but with time, the value increases. it would be in a museum, or somewhere in a collector's house, being glorified as it's displayed as a part of an antique collection. it's that crazy."

"age makes things finer i guess? that's a funny insight you have on the artifacts though. hey, maybe i should look out for you if the kids have a visit there." he says, turning to look at you.

you smile and shake your head, sipping on your tea then saying, "you'll never miss me there if you come with them because i'm the one who handles museum tours for children. the kids would be wondering though, 'how did that weirdass woman get a job in the musem?' i don't know in what way but i think i always manage to look somewhat weird when i'm working. maybe because i take the artifacts so seriously or i am too smiley or my lameass jokes."

"well that weirdass woman is my neighbour and i enjoy her presence around me," suddenly he looks at the clock, striking 12 am. "hey look, it's already midnight."

"oh shit," you say. you frowned as you didn't even get to finish your tea. "it's really late."

"you can just stay a little while more," he says, shrugging at you, then he jokes, "if you're running late i could just send baby upstairs and wake you up."

"no thank you," you laugh, shaking your head and then sipping your tea, "meowmeow does that for me already.'

"hey, i know this is kinda tmi but," donghyuk says, giving you a lopsided smile, "it's my birthday today."

"really?" you ask, "let me check the calendar."

you take your phone from the pocket of your pajama top and look at the date.

"3rd january. no wonder you kept asking me to stay longer, you wanted me to wish you happy birthday, huh?" you say, teasing him. then you turn at him and give him a smile, "fine, then. happy birthday donghyuk."

he laughs and you gaze at him as his eyes once again turn into upside-down crescents, as it had the other day.

"thanks," he says. he then looks at the cats who were playing behind you, "god, they're so cute."

"i know," you say, promptly looking over your back and then back at donghyuk, "i love them."

"is meowmeow neutered?" he asks, genuine concern showing on his face.

nodding, you say, "yeah. is baby neutered?"

"mm hmm," he hums in response, "a long time ago."

"well i'm glad they both are," you say, "the last thing we need is a litter of kittens."

laughing, donghyuk then sips on his tea and proceeds to say, "what would you do if they weren't and baby got meowmeow pregnant?"

"i'll ask you for child support," you say, without missing a beat.

hearing your response, donghyuk immediately laughs and you join him. you can't help it, you were enjoying this whole conversation you had with him. it's almost like you both knew each other for a long time, you felt a connection with him.

"that would be epic," donghyuk says, "i would have more reason to have you over."

you blink, unsure if donghyuk had just said that.

are you being fucking serious? you think, are you being fucking serious kim donghyuk?

"then i'll have more reason to go downstairs," you blurt out to see if he'll respond accordingly.

"i'd like that. i think you're cute," he suddenly blurts.

"what?" you ask, dumbfounded by what he had just said, "donghyuk, please rethink your words. that night i was barely decent and my hair was a mess and my eyes looked like panda eyes and i probably sounded like a fucking frog."

"no," he says, shaking his head to indicate 'no', "no i don't think so. you look cute that night and i felt like i wanted to pick you up and nuzzle you like i did with baby. when you came downstairs with that question of yours, and when i turned to look at you, i was mesmerised."

"mesmerised by a half-asleep idiot, great," you laugh, "i am seriously questioning your taste right now."

"olay i know i'm exagerrating about being mesmerised but you shouldn't. you're cute and i know i have good taste," donghyuk says, joining you laugh, "you're really pretty."

"yeah and baby's the president of a cat nation somewhere across the sea." you joke, "nice."

"i'm telling you the truth. why don't you believe in yourself?" donghyuk says, trying to convince you, "and also, i heard your ramblings that night."

"what? no." you say, your eyes wide in horror.

"i heard everything." donghyuk says, smiling, "about you not knowing you had a cute neighbour living downstairs until ribbit."

"i'm dead," you say, laughing again.

"i didn't know i was perfect in somebody's eyes though," he says, gazing into your eyes.

his gaze made you lower your head as you try to suppress your grin.

"you are," you say, raising your head up to look at him, "you are. the way you smile just manage to make my heart crumble into a million pieces, that's just how impactful it is. anyway how did you even hear me?"

"you need to remember how thin the walls are in our apartments, yeah?" he says, still laughing, "plus, it's never a good idea to raise your voice at the dead of the night."

mentally cursing yourself again, you lower your head and shake it.

"so, neighbour," donghyuk says, causing you to raise your head back up and look at him, "do you... d-do you...?"

he keeps on delaying the question by laughing at the most unconvenient time, smiling undendingly.

"spit it out, kim donghyuk," you say, half-threatening and half-joking with him, "or you'll never have another chance after i walk out your door tonight."

"okay okay," he says in defeat, sighing, "do you want to go on a date and celebrate my birthday with me?"

his question definitely threw you off guard, wiping the smile off your face completely. at first, donghyuk looks slightly apologetic and regretful when he saw your reaction but quickly, your smile changed his expression.

"of course i would," you say, "we barely know each other and you're already asking me to celebrate your birthday with you. that's kinda unbelievable but i'll make sure to get you a present."

"thanks," he chuckles, "for saying yes, for the present, and being with me until i finally turn 22."

"you're one hell of a man, donghyuk." you say, shaking your head in disbelief, "and i like this spontaneousness."

"y'know what? it's weird because i think i have a crush on you." you continue, still chuckling, "it felt awkward talking to you at first but i kinda felt a connection. i feel comfortable with you."

"damn," donghyuk curses, "this might sound s little childish but i feel the same, i think i have a crush on you too. it's been like 2 days since we met but i don't know why, i kept thinking how things would feel a little bit better with you around. i like talking to you too."

"hey," you say, patting his shoulder, "we're on the same page."

the two of you finally manage to get to an agreement of where your date should be, which is going to be at the cafe near the museum that you didn't even know the two of you frequented. the two of you exchanged numbers right before you went back upstairs, leaving with meowmeow in your arms. truly, the new year is starting great for you and you went back to your apartment feeling giddy and expectant of the date you are going to have later today.

as you check your phone, you see a text message from donghyuk, saying goodnight to you. replying to him with a goodnight as well, you then jumped onto the bed, rolling around in excitement.

and you went to bed, dreaming of melted chocolate and upside-down crescent shaped eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed the nonsense. toodles.


End file.
